Woodbury's Spy
by Alexica Matthews
Summary: Brooklyn Matthews hates Woodbury, but if she leaves she dies. So she aims for the next best thing: Research Team. Not a single soul there thinks she has what it takes. She's out to prove them all wrong and kill a few biters along the way. Rated T for swearing and Implied sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

_Seventeen days._

Seventeen days and I am still stuck here. I'm still captive here in the town. If I leave I know they'll hunt me down, if I stay I'll end up just like everyone else: mindless and stupid. Not to mention cowards.

Woodbury. "The safest place on Earth". That's what's said about this shit-hole. The townspeople say that Woodbury has never had a bite victim, never had a death of unnatural causes, and never had anyone leave.

Except Michonne, she left. I saw her leave. She left and she hasn't come back. No one knows if she died or not but I knew she didn't like this place. I don't like it much either. It's too perfect, too peaceful. I want in on the outside.

"Miss Matthews."

I turned and spotted Merle, great. He's the Governor's top mutt. His right hand guy. Which isn't much considering he has no right hand. he has a sort of metal attachment on his right arm. He nicknamed it Little Merle, I nicknamed it Stumpers. Truth is, he gives me the creeps. But I put on a smile and waved at him, "Hey Merle, guess what?"

"It's your Birthday." He had been waiting for the day he could start hitting on me. I heard him talking to some of my friends, the guys training on the Wall. "Well you know what that means, Brooklyn."

"Please, just Brook." I waved my hand at that stupid name. "In the event of a biter attack it's easier."

Merle's face turned neutral but hard. "Their will never be a biter attack in Woodbury, so you have nothing to worry about."

"I'm eighteen now, I can choose my job. I'm joining the research team."

Merle opened his mouth to say something back at me but closed it. He glanced away before opening his mouth again, this time it was hushed. "You want to join the team you have to talk to the Governor. Now I know he's not likely to allow women on the research team, but I can put in a good word for you." he gave me a quick look up and down. "It's dangerous, you'll experience biters first-hand. I've taken a team of five out and only one returned."

I bet I can guess who returned. He took that team of newbies out two days ago and came back with a nasty cut on his nose. It was only a day after Michonne left. "What does the research team do mostly?" I asked him.

Merle rolled his eyes. "Young miss wants to join but she still hasn't turned the lights on yet." he looked behind him when one of the wall watcher's called to him. He raised Stumpy to signal them before turning back to me. "The research team collects biters sometimes. Tests are preformed on them, and we scout for food. In any case make an appointment with Him. If you join-" He stood straight and smirked a little "-I might give you some privet lessons Brooklyn." He winked at me before walking over to the wall watchers and they began a heated discussion on proper gun maintenance.

I had some thinking to do, my plan was to join the research team right away. But maybe I should hold off on it. I want to be like Andrea, truthfully. She chose to stay rather than leave with her friend. I heard she jumped over the wall when a Bowmen couldn't make the shot to kill a biter. I want to be a badass like her. Then maybe I could take a small group of people and leave. We could make it, I'm sure.

I began walking towards the Governor's house, I watched a moment at a group of teens trying to get a wall watcher to let them touch his gun. I smirked at them. One, a boy, waved at me. His sandy hair turned golden in the warm light. But I didn't stop to talk to him, I was on a mission. Reaching the door to his house I gave it five knocks. Two minutes went by before Andrea answered. I inwardly frowned at this, as much as I envied her fearlessness she was kind of awkward to talk to.

"What is it?" She asked in a huff of breath. Great, the Governor was busy. He and Andrea are together, in a way. Maybe that's why he was so prone to keeping her here.

"I would like to talk to the Governor, today is my eighteenth birthday and I was hoping he would like to know which job I plan on trying for." And succeeding I added in my head.

"What job? I can tell the Governor, are you interested in the medical field?"

"Research team." I told her briskly. She shifted her weight and gave me a look. I hate that look. She thinks I'm too small and fragile to be in that field. "Look lady, I can run as fast as the other's can and I can lift more than you can. I-"

"Whoa!" The Governor's voice silenced me as he appeared around the doorway. He was fully dressed, formally but still casual. "What do we have here? Brooklyn what can I help you with today?"

"Sir, I turned eighteen and I want a job. The research team." I blinked once but stared him dead in the eyes. Their was no way I was going to show any hesitation now. I want the job."

"Now missy, their are a lot of other jobs that you surely would be better at, maybe a sitting job would be best for you." He looked past me for a few seconds. The sound of children alerted me to what caught his attention.

He wanted me to watch babies? Hell no. "With all due respect Governor, I can handle being on the team. I've been training. Merle said-"

"Merle? Merle wants you on the team?" Dammit, am I going to get interrupted every time I talk to him? "Well Brooklyn I'll have a little talk with Merle, in the meantime would you make sure that those boys over there don't steal the wall watcher's gun?" He flashed me a smile before closing the door. I could hear some talking inside.

I turned and headed for the boys, the poor Wall guy was sweating buckets. He didn't seem to know he rules. He was just appointed yesterday on Wall duty. "Andrew, Luke." I called to the two boys I knew. They all looked at me and stopped talking. Luke stepped forward. I stood straight. Poor guy, I was easily three inches taller than he.

"What do you want, Brooklyn?" He asked with a sneer.

"It's Brook, the Governor has instructed me to tall you that you are not supposed to talk with the Wall guys while their on duty." I looked at the guy wih a slight glare, he seemed to be silently thanking me for the turn of attention. "Carry on." I told him. He returned to the top of the wall.

"Be cool Brook, we just wanted to see the gun he had on him. In any case who do you think you are? Carrying out 'orders' for the Governor." He looked back at his friends, they all laughed.

"It just so happens that I'm joining the Research team." They all were quiet again. "That's right, I turned eighteen this morning. Merle's training me himself." Two white lies-well on lie and one possible truth. It doesn't matter. I doubt they'll believe either of them. But I didn't show that I was lying.

"Wow Brook, that's impressive." Andrew came up and stood next to Luke. He was the boy who waved at me earlier, he's two years younger than I was but he didn't look it. He looked easily twenty. He quickly diverted the attention, "Come on guys, school's going to start in a little while." He started to walk away with the group but turned back to look at me. "See you around, Brook."

Andrew was a nice kid, but I didn't need him to protect me. If a fight broke out it wouldn't have been the first time I would have beaten up Luke, probably wouldn't be the last. Before everything happened, before Woodbury now, I was the daughter of a Martial Arts master. Although I took no interest in it some things did rub off.

I looked back at the wall watcher, he was focused on the outskirts, his gun slowly following something on the other side of the wall. "Can I watch?" I asked, "I promise I won't become a distraction."

He shrugged before firing his gun, I took it as a sign that I could come up. Climbing the ladder I noticed chairs. Their were two lawn chairs. I sat in one and he the other. "What's your name soldier?" He asked me.

"Brook. Yours?"

"Steven. Steven Forte." He wore sunglasses now, to block from the sun that shone in both of our faces. "So you're joining the Research huh? It's dangerous."

"Every job has it's risks." I reminded him. "Yours seems to be heat stroke."

"Not many kids come back from their first research outing." He continued to talk as though I hadn't replied. "Including my brother."

"You said your last name was Forte? So your brother was Joseph." I remembered him, he was just three months older than I was. I heard he froze to death during the winter. "I am sincerely sorry for your loss." I put my hand on his shoulder. The boy shrugged. "He got lost. It's important to know where you've been. Know where you're going."

"I will, biter." I warning him, it was coming out of the trees. The biter was severely rotted, it's hair was almost gone. Its hand were bloody and they matched its mouth. It looked like a man before ti was bitten and you could see the bite would, it was bitten on the leg which was nearly meat-less. Inside my stomach churned at the thought of becoming one of those. I tried to remain cool on the outside.

Steven didn't get up from his chair, he used his wrist to steady the gun barrel and shot, he hit the target.

"You're amazing with a rifle." I told him. "when did you learn to shoot?"

"My step father, he took me to a shooting range growing up." He looked into town and frowned. "You should go." he smiled at me. "Good luck."

I smiled back at him, "Thanks Steven. By the way, my last name is Matthews."

He waved once more before he began loading his rifle. I made my way back down the ladder and turned just to be face-to-face with Merle. His Expression was slightly disapproving. "Hello, the Governor has news for you, you made the cut. He looked at your records and after a talk with me and the school teacher he's decided you start wall training."

"Wall training? That's not what I asked for." My hands became fists.

"He says if you're good you can go on scouting missions. Better study up Brooklyn."

Merle ruffled my hair, turning it into a small brown puff. I didn't care. I was in the system now. Sure I was still held within the walls but now I could see the outside whenever I wanted. I looked up at Steven in time to hear another crack of his gun. He looked down at me.

"Some luck." I cringed, he smirked at me.

"Get some R&R Brook, Wall training's a bitch." He returned to look out into the woods.

I wasn't where I wanted to be, but I was happy. Besides, maybe I wasn't ready to leave just yet. Maybe I'll stop by the school and brag about my new position. I'm sure the boys there would be livid. But perhaps I should be quite. Luke and Andrew believe I'm on the Research team. I don't want to be called a liar. And I want to get in good with my trainer tomorrow, I decided to go and see if the guys would allow me to use their weights. it wasn't hard to convince them.


	2. Chapter 2

"Merle, sir."

This orientation crap is just that, crap. I want to sink my knife into a biter, but regulations are regulations. I tried to sit still as a new guy, I think his name is Carlos, bombarded Merle with questions and hypothetical situations about the wall. I never knew so many scenarios could involve one line of defense. Carlos opened his mouth again to speak now that he had everyone's attention but no one's favor.

"Merle if one of the citizens were to be bitten, what are the precautions that should be taken to prevent a breakout?" Carlos even had a notebook. Biggest square ever.

I think Merle got tired of his questions because he took the notebook away from him and then proceeded to tear it up with his left hand and his teeth. I was slightly impressed.

Merle looked at all of us, somehow I felt we should have all been in uniform about to go to war. "The wall ain't no laughing matter boys. You're all in charge of protectin' Woodbury. This young fellow right here-" He gestured to Carlos "-thinks takin' notes will help his chances in getting promoted." He there the half of notebook still in his hand at the boy's feet. "but it won't. The only thing that will help you is a good shot and a lot of luck." He looked at me, probably expecting some sort of retort or demonstration. I didn't need to prove anything to Merle and he knew it. Truth was, I was all ready a good shot and had plenty of practice dodging biters for nearly ten months before I found Woodbury.

"Miss Matthews, why don't you stay behind, the rest of the class is excused. Tomorrow we go up on the wall and practice." He waited until everyone left before looking at the notes scattered around the ground. "That boy wants to become a part of the research team."

"Carlos? Wouldn't make it ten feet outside the walls." I scoffed. "Not like myself." I ran my hands over my arms as a slight chill crept around the two of us. "Hot days, cold nights. Will we ever get a break?"

Merle laughed briefly. His gaze fell on the black shadow of the wall. "Only you and me know what's out there missy. And the Governor."

The Governor. Why does Merle insist on his loyalty to him.

"I think I could do a better job running Woodbury than he could." I told him casually.

Merle's head shot up and his gaze was dark. "Oh yeah?" He asked with an innocent tone.

"I'd give all of the adults training and start the kids training too. How to run run from biters and climb trees to get out of their reach."

"The Governor wants the kids to remain innocent."

"I've seen herds, so have you Merle." I reminded him. "Their's no way Woodbury could defend against a whole herd and keep the whole population safe. If I were the Governor, I would work out a fallback system."

Merle's mouth frowned. "What's been working will always work."

I sighed. I wanted to convince Merle but it was difficult. I didn't know much about him firstly, all that I could figure out about his past is that he had a little brother and that some sheriff chained him to a pipe on a supermarket roof. I would like to meet him one day. Still, I racked my brain for the perfect analogy. "Merle, did you ever watch movies before all of this happened?"

"Some, when I wasn't in prison."

Prison, perfect. "Well Merle, did you ever notice how in prison movies the culprit had a life changing experience in prison but how in real-life that never happens and the convict ends up committing the crime again?" I paused to let the thought sink in. "Well this is real life and putting something away won't get you any results, taking precautions to make sure that everyone's safe when it happens saves lives." I'm pretty sure I didn't make any sence to him, but what can you expect from a convict?

"So you're saying that it's better to prepare for the worst and never have anything life threatening happen, rather than continue as we are and be caught with our pants down?"

I turned to look at the Governor and the creepy awkward science guy that should really think about hitting the gym sometime. The Governor had his arms crossed and the science nerd was wearing some kind of metallic colored vest. I think it was duct tape.

"Better be safe than sorry yes, like when a comrade dies or you find a body without a visible head wound. I would much rather spend an extra few seconds taking a knife to his skull than to get bitten trying to cross his path." I shifted my weight onto on leg and crossed my arms. "And I think it would be best to widen the perimeter around Woodbury. We could use the wood and it would widen our visual field. Michonne didn't like this place at all, I let them wonder how I knew, but in reality anyone who spent three seconds with her knew her disdain for Woodbury. "I wouldn't be surprised if she attempted a full out assault on you Governor."

That seemed to have left him quite speechless. He just gave me a nod and jerked his head back, telling Merle to follow him. I caught myself watching after Merle and the Governor. Not because I liked the way they looked in the back but because the Governor has a really lovely pistol strapped to his waist. "When am I going to get my gun back?" I wondered out loud.

"The Governor doesn't like children running around with guns and knives." The king of squares hadn't left yet. I turned around to look at him.

"I know you think the same as I do. I mean you're a part of the team right?" He nodded. "I want to join the research team to help with learning how the biters work. You've obviously made progress." I tugged on his shirt. I was right, duct tape. "This protects against bites right?"

He stared at it for a moment. "Initially, yes. but movement is impaired slightly. It saved my life though."

"This is what I want to learn."

He looked at me carefully, I wondered what the gears in his brain were processing. Finally he sighed. "Michonne and Andrea had two biters with them before they were brought to Woodbury. Both had their teeth, jaws, and arms removed."

I let go of his sleeve and tilted my head to the side. Why would anyone want to have biters as company? "What does that mean?"

"The biters had no desire to bite or attack in general. The governor called them stalkers. It's hypothetical that the 'stalkers' aided the two girls in camouflage. int he sense, walk with a biter and the others will think you're biters." He glanced side-to-side quickly. "It's past curfew. Let me walk you inside." He started walking to the west side of Woodbury.

"What's your name? I'm sorry but I'm terrible with them." I asked him, he turned around.

"Milton."

"Well Milton you should know that my quarters is on the east side, not the west." I crossed my arms again.

He began walking quickly int he other direction, "Forgive me." he said quickly. I fell in step beside him. "Their are no women on the Research team." He began, "so it goes without saying how cautious and how unlikely you will be recruited for the job."

"I'm well aware of my chances, but I am also well conscience of the fact that not many women in Woodbury have the experience with biters as I do. You are informed of my... back story is I guess what you could call it, correct?"

"No, inform me." He kept his gaze from looking at me in the slightest bit.

"When everything went down I was in Madison, a small town outside of Atlanta." I began. "Small town girl, but not like Merle. My father was a karate instructor there. We were on our way to the dojo when a man staggered up to us, he looked quite sick. My father took him tot he hospital and told me to go home. I did as he wanted. On my way home I saw a woman in an alley, she was making some weird groaning noises. She crouched over another body, I tried to see if she needed help but then she turned around and I saw it, she was eating the man." I looked down for a second, for a second I could see everything again. "I ran from her, before she could get to me. I ran home and I found my father's pistol. It's a small town, everyone had a gun somewhere in their house. I called the police but their was no answer. Then overnight it seemed the mass outbreak began. My father wasn't allowed to leave the hospital, the sick man died and was miraculously revived on his own. He turned and bit my father.

"My father called me once, he told me to take the gun and flee the town, he told me to find someplace in the middle of nowhere and stay there until he found me. I did as he asked. He never found me. I found a place in the woods and hunted birds and squirrels. I survived all winter like that until a herd of biters came. I climbed a tree and waited. that's when I was found." I found myself at the front door to the complex I was staying at.

"Impressive. Merle found you, correct?"

I nodded, "I was half starved and scared out of my mind, But I'm not afraid anymore. I know what they're capable of."

Milton opened the door for me, he cleared his throat. "Get some rest. I'm sure Merle is going to have something planned for you tomorrow."

"Good night Milton." I closed the door and waited a moment before Taking my shoes off and heading to my bedroom. It wasn't much, their were two beds, but I didn't share it with anyone else. I didn't mind, I was often on my own growing up and before Woodbury. I tossed my shoes next to the door and proceeded taking off my pants. I hopped in bed and got comfortable. Then my mind started to whirl with thoughts.

Why did Milton ask if I was rescued by Merle? How come the Governor didn't dismiss my thought about safety? All I knew is that I would have to work twice as hard to get on the research team. And that Milton is not very good at telling truth from lies. I didn't want to join the research team to protect the town. I wanted to stop the Governor's rein over the town. Milton and the Governor have no idea what I'm capable of. Merle probably knows so I know I need to be careful, he's the Governor's man, anything wrong I do would get reported to him.

I had many more thoughts about my situation but I couldn't remember them because I had all ready started to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Sometimes I wish Merle never found me.

Actually, half the time I wish Merle never found me. The town is run by men, mostly. Sexist, perverted men.

I started my day off easy, waking up and making the decision to cut my hair short. Normally it was kept up in a bun but I thought about survival. A biter could grab my hair and then I would be dead. No one would com back for me, and I would be lucky to get shot in the head before I was turned or bitten. No, I decided to X-out that possibility. I asked the lady who took care of the house I stayed in for scissors, she gave me a pair and I cut it until I was satisfied with the length.

I then proceeded to get dressed and head out to see what Merle had planned for the wall today. Merle took one look at me and his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. Wonderful, as if I didn't have enough problems.

"What's today's plan?" I tried to steer away from a conversation about my hair.

"Well, well, well, I didn't know we'd have another boy joining wall guard today." He laughed and looked around to see if anyone else heard his horrible joke.

"It's only a precaution, not for your enjoyment." I caught myself trying to flip my nonexistent hair and instead rubbed the back of my head and smiled. "It is only in case of a biter attack."

Merle stopped laughing, he rubbed his gimp arm. "I-it looks fine. Come on lassy we've got training to do, everyone's waitin'."

I followed him around the far west building and spotted the small group of boys still in training. It seems the research team went into extra efforts into driving some biters towards the wall. I could smell them all ready.

"Well boys, are you prepared to get schooled?" I looked up at Merle who's face was now hard and serious. I walked over to the boys and took my place just a ways away from them.

"Now that we're all here why don't we get to the shooting shall we?" He walked over to a table and flipped it's cover off. Under it revealed seven handguns, all taken apart. "Huh, I guess I lied." he proceeded into putting one of them together. He did it so fast I wondered if it wasn't just prison that he was into before the biters turned up. Though I doubt Merle would have ever served in the military. "Now who's gonna try first?" He stared them down, daring anyone to take a stab at putting a simple gun together.

"I will." I looked over at the one who spoke. It was the square from yesterday. He bravely walked over to the table and repeated Merle's steps, assembling the gun in just 40 seconds. Merle gave him a nod of approval before sending him off to find a spot on the wall.

I wasn't about to let myself be outdone. When I was left alone in the woods I dropped my gun in a nearby stream. I had to take it apart and clean it before it was any use. Hoping I remembered everything I grabbed for the first [art I could, it was the chamber-thing. I never did learn the names. But it was easy enough, I had assembled it in just 45 seconds. I looked at Merle but he didn't match my gaze. I took it upon myself to join the square on the wall.

It seems I was an incentive to get the group going because the other four boys nearly killed each other wanting to take a turn at assembling the guns. It took them each three minutes at least. Merle rolled his eyes and finally looked at me. I only noticed out of the corner of my eye. I was too busy getting familiar with my weapon again. I had grown fond of the cold hard steel that seemed to fit perfectly into my hands.

I began to aim the gun at things I knew I could shoot, a bike tire from fifty feet away, a vibrantly colored blue piece of trash that was much further away than the tire.

Visions came flooding back about the woods, I remembered being strapped to a tree in which I had made my home. Walkers surrounded me but they couldn't climb. I had spent weeks stripping bark from the tree six feet high to make sure no predatory animal or biter could get to me. I was very careful trying to to draw attention to myself from anything.

I had a cut on my leg from the previous day, slipping in the river. It must have attracted some nearby biters, they did not want to leave me alone. I fumbled with my gun for a few moments before finally firing it, My first shot missed. After that I took my time aiming for them, hit each one and got better. After unloading on the biters someone came along with two biters n chains, she sliced and diced the biters and took off without a word.

Up until now I had never realized it was Michonne. I wanted to thank her for saving my life. But she would distance herself from everyone in Woodbury, I never got the chance. I aimed at more objects before I finally spotted a biter. It was an old one, or pretty tore up before it turned. It's color was all ready completely gone and replaced with an pasty ashen gray color. I quickly checked the ammunition in my clip. None.

"Merle!" I called, he looked up. I jerked my head towards the outside of the wall. "Biter."

He leisurely strolled over and squinted his eyes against the setting sun. "Yup. That's a biter all right." He motioned for the other recruits to come up to the wall. "Ladies, this is a biter. Only one thing can kill it and that's to attack the brain, always the brain." He dished out clips that had full ammunition. "First one to his the biter gets to keep their gun."

I moved faster than I ever though possible. My fingers flew as they pulled the empty clip out of the handgun and snapped the other one in. I aimed quickly and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

Two seconds later the square had finished exchanging his clips and had taken down the biter. Damnit! He received a congratulatory pat on the back from Merle that nearly made his eyes pop out of his skull.

I checked my gun, safety, the safety was on. I eyed the other's guns, they didn't have the safety on. I felt foolish for making such a rookie mistake and I couldn't help feeling Merle had rigged my gun. I fiddled with the safety but it clicked off easily. I sighed and handed my gun to the redneck. I looked at Square. "Good job, you're an excellent shot." I managed to mumble before jumping down from the wall and walking away. I felt humiliated, their were no words to describe it. I decided to go see if Steven had anything to talk about.

I found him on the North wall, he had the same rifle and the same sunglasses. I climbed to the top of the wall and stood next to him. "You would not believe what happened to me today." I said.

"Merle hit on you?" He guessed.

"Worse, I had my chance to own a gun and blew it. Left the safety on when a biter approached." I heard him draw in a sharp breath. I know what he was thinking.

"Shit. That's the first thing you look at when you handle a gun." He looked at me once and then again as he noticed my hair.

"I assembled it just fine too, in 45 seconds."

"Damn, takes me at least a minute." He raised his rifle and quickly took down a biter. Then allowed himself a break. "I get off in a half hour, why don't we talk then?"

"I'll take that as my que to leave then." I began turned to climb down, "Why don't we meet in the square at 7?"

He nodded before turning around and training his gun on what I would guess is another biter. No problem for me. I decided against walking back to my place on the ground and decided to walk around the wall. I could get a good feel of it and meet my partners on the wall. I met 8 before I found myself facing an unguarded part of the wall and a gun lying on the ground. I picked it up and fixed my gaze at the outside area. I couldn't see anything for awhile, then I saw them.

Movement out of the corner of my eye. Near the wall. It was a man, though he looked like a newly turned walker. "Who's there?" I whispered and leaned over the edge. That's when I could see him better. It looked about 6 feet tall, scraggly. He looked back at me and glared before raising his gun.

"Are you trying to get in here?" I fumbled with my words. "I can find you an easier way. Look please don't shoot." I blinked at him, he looked around and started to back away slowly. Just as he left I heard two pairs of footsteps coming in my direction. I slowly stood up. "I'm not a biter." I warned them.

"Why are you on the wall?"

"I'm training with Merle to guard the wall." I answered. "I thought I saw a hole in the wall, but I was wrong." I explained my predicament.

"That's dangerous." The dark-skinned one put his gun away. "Never lean over the wall like that."

I nodded, I still held the gun in my hand. I waited for the two to leave before leaning over the wall, not as bad as before but just enough to see the bottom. "Are you still there?" I called out quietly.

Nothing. I called out again, their was a rustle in the bushes just feet from where I stood. I tried a third time before the man finally emerged. He was followed by another one, taller. He had a crossbow.

"Who are you guys?" I asked. They gave no answer. "Look, why are you here?"

The second guy pointed his crossbow at me. "Where are your prisoners?" He was serious.

"Um... I'm not sure, I think they could be on the southeast side of Woodbury, their's a run-down looked building that no one's supposed to go in. But I have no idea honestly. Wait, I'm not sure we have prisoners." I made myself comfortable and less conspicuous. "This isn't the best place to talk. Wait until after dark and go to the east side of the wall. I can get you in there."

"How can we trust you?" The first one asked, his eyes darted around, probably looking for any sign of a trap.

"Here." I handed them the rifle. "I have no idea how much ammunition is in the gun but take it." The first guy took the gun. "My name is Brook Matthews, I've only been in Woodbury for seventeen days."

"We'll see you in two hours. Maybe." The first on signaled for the other to pull back.

Neither made an effort to tell me their names. But it seemed that one was the leader for sure. The second one reminded me of someone, but I couldn't quite figure it out. I looked at the sky. It was about seven. I hopped off the wall and strolled to the center of town. I spotted Steven waiting, he looked different without a rifle in his arms. As I walked up to him I realized how tall he really was. Almost a foot taller than me.

"Hey." He waved at me. I waved back and stood next to him. "Let's stay away from the wall, I don't want to dwell on our jobs so much."

"I didn't realize you were recruited for the wall. I thought you were going to become a research member."

I cringed. "Not yet, they said. I guess they want to check my abilities first."

"Well your survived out there for like ten months right?" He gestured the the wall.

"Yeah, in the trees." I rubbed my arms and looked away. I've never been praised on my survival skills. "On raw fish and whatever I could scrape up here-and-there."

"That's impressive all ready." He scratched his scruffy beard a bit. "Maybe they're seeing if you'll run off."

I looked at him. "It's possible. Hey Steven how long have you been in Woodbury?

"Three months." He looked at me, "Why?"

"Wondering. I guess other than Andrea I'm the newbie here." I looked at my shoes, they were incredibly worn. "Maybe I should request new shoes?"

"I'm going on a scouting mission tomorrow, why don't I look for some?" He offered and smiled at me.

"Thanks, that would be great." I smiled back. We struck up a conversation about what things he should look out for on his mission. It was settled that biters and bullets were the best things to look for. Even though I really needed shoes. We went from conversation to conversation. before either of us knew it it had grown dark.

"Where do you live?" he asked me suddenly.

"On the east side, close to the wall." I stared at him for a moment. "You don't need to walk me home. You live on the West side right?"

"How did you know?"

"I saw you go that direction last night after your shift. I just sounded like a creep didn't I?"

"A little, but I don't mind. It's dark, let me walk you."

"I'm not afraid of the dark. Or biters." I didn't want him int he area when I met the guys from the wall. "Besides, my house caretaker person doesn't like visitors. She's kind of strange."

"All right, all right," He held up his hands in defeat. "I can tell when I'm not wanted." He turned to leave. "Goodnight Brook."

"G'night Steven." I turned to leave, looking back only once to make sure he didn't follow. He wasn't. I picked up the pace and slipped quickly inside my house.

Inside was very quiet, I assumed that everyone had gone to sleep or is upstairs getting ready for sleep. I joined them in the regimen and bade my farewells to the moderately friendly people who also stayed here. Their were seven, one worked on the wall. I closed my door and looked at the alarm clock next to the bed, it read 8:45. Now I needed to clear an area on the wall. I looked out my window to see who was guarding the wall on the east side, their were two people, spaced equally apart. I put on something that sort of showed off my body kind of well and walked outside, giving the caretaker the excuse that I was asked to accompany the boys on the wall as part of my training.

Getting there was easy, convincing Mario and Jack that I should be allowed to observe on the wall was much harder.

"Come on! I'll keep a look out for the biters and when I see any I'll tell you. I promise!"

Mario shifted his weight and sighed. "Look, I know you're eager to get some hours in but-"

"But what? I can take care of myself." I put my hands on my hips. "Two on the wall tonight? This east wall is the longest, whatever the Governor has planned for the wall guys he's lacking in defense here."

"The research team spotted a herd on the West side. They're putting extra guns up there." Jack scratched his head.

"Give me a hand gun and a flashlight and I'll help out."

Mario looked at me for a minute, then handed me the items. "You can take the far edge, But call us if you need help."

I could have hugged him. "Thanks. I owe you." I gave him a wink before walking off toward the northern corner of the east wall. I turned my flashlight on and let it shine on the area. I spotted some movement in the distance quickly, but it was only two biters. At least I was able to prove myself by taking them out with only two shots between them. It certainly got Jack and Mario to relax and stop watching me all the time. They began to focus on their own sections. I settled down and got comfortable on the outer edge of the wall, shining my light but no walkers came again. I was beginning to get sleepy when I noticed a small whisper.

"Brook!"

I thought I imagined it, or Mario caught me trying to sleep. But both of them were on the far side trying to distinguish whether the movement on the far side was a biter or a deer.

"Brook!"

I looked down without shining my light, It continued to scan the surroundings, creating the perfect blind spot. This time it was only the first guy.

"Hey," I sighed with relief. "I thought you weren't coming."

"You can get us inside?" This guy was all business. and still no name. I figured I wouldn't ask for it unless he gave it.

"Yes, but it's risky. The only way to get in is through the back, the Governor's house has a window that leads out in the back. The best times to get in is when both he and his lady are out."

"When is that?" He jumped back when my flashlight nearly fell. I scrambled for it and scanned the perimeter. I spotted another biter and took it down easily again.

"That's at around noon when the Governor has a talk with the research team. And Andrea won't be too hard to get out of the house."

"Andrea?" The man seemed to have known her.

"Yes, she arrived here a week ago. In any case that's not the issue, she'll rat you out. She abandoned her companion. I'll get her out of the house and you'll get in. Is their anything else you need?"

"How can I trust you?"

"I've only been here seventeen days and it's horrible. Curfews, terrible rations, biter fight club." I waved my hand to dismiss the last thought. "In any case I don't want to join you, I just want to get out of here. Help me accomplish that and we'll never cross paths again."

"We'll think about it."

"Hey, just be careful, the research teams patrol the are around here throughout the day. I'll get Andrea out of the house, you decide wheather or not you want to use the window or not."

"How many people are their here?"

"Roughly 70 or so. Four died two days ago." I glanced over at the boys on the wall, Jake was coming towards us. I looked down at the guy, "you have to go, their's someone coming." I looked up to scan the area again, it was quiet. Jake walked over to me.

"That's enough for tonight. We don't want Merle coming and getting in trouble for letting a little lass play sniper all night. Complete your training, then you can come join us whenever you want." He winked at me. God I hate the perverts here. I put on a smile though, and when I handed him the gun and flashlight I let my hands linger on his for a moment.

"Thank you so much!" I let my voice sound like those girls did on television before everything went down. I crawled off the wall and went back to my room. When I looked at the clock on my bedside it read past midnight. I was going to have a hell of a day tomorrow.


End file.
